About Thomas A. Knight

The Open Source Author

This is where I'm supposed to tell you a little bit about myself, right? Who I am, what I do, what my favorite color is? Okay, here goes:

I'm a Fantasy Author

I write stories set in a fantasy world of my own design called Galadir and occasionally cross over onto Earth. I write in a style all my own that has been described as fast-paced, exciting and highly descriptive. There's a point in every author's career where they feel comfortable describing their own writing. I'm at that point now, but only just.

I'm a Software Developer

I've built a career out of writing software, whether it be automated test systems (where I got my start), database systems, web applications (like this website) or handheld applications. I've done a little bit of everything. I've been developing software for twenty-four years and have no plans to stop. This is my day-job. It pays the bills. I really can't say that about writing right now, though I'm hopeful that will change some day.

I'm a Gamer

In my spare time (HA!) I play role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. I'm a twenty+ year veteran role-player, and like software development, I have no plans to stop any time soon. This is the hobby that inspired much of my writing, so I owe it a lot. I also play a variety of other games, including Magic: the Gathering, various iterations of Pokemon, Terraria, and many more.

I'm a Father and a Husband

This is big enough that it really should come first. I have two intelligent teenagers who are everything I ever could have wanted in spawn. I've been married to my wife for over fifteen years and been with her for over twenty. I love her more than anything, and dedicated my first published novel to her. I also have three crazy cats who are just awesome.

The Woman Behind The Man

This site wouldn't be nearly what it is today if it weren't for my beautiful wife Claire. All graphics, layout, colors, fonts, book covers, emblems and just about anything else that requires any kind of artistic skill were either created or chosen by her. Thank you my darling, you've done a phenomenal job!

Why Open Source?

Free and open source software (FOSS) has been a passion of mine for some time now. I truly believe that for any software in the world that is designed and written by a big corporation, there is now an equivelent free and/or open source package that meets the same standard of quality. To prove this, I write, edit, format and publish all of my books using only FOSS.

Some packages I currently use: